Other than Iceland, New Zealand is one of the most geologically diverse countries we have traveled. Imagine being able to travel from the high alpine to the ocean coast, seeing glaciers, waterfalls, hot springs, sea-sized lakes, lush forests, and sandy beaches all in a days’ travel. One of the most iconic of these is the vast glaciers which in some places can be seen from the coastline. Like all glaciers worldwide, these too are receding at record pace, so visiting sooner rather than later is urgent before these behemoths disappear.
We chose to go to the town of Fox Glacier, lesser known than touristy Franz-Josef Glacier, it was an ideal location to tap into this geological diversity as it has coastline, farmlands, lush forests, and alpine terrain all nearby. Having done crevasse rescue practice for search and rescue on Mt. Rainier, it wasn’t my first time on a glacier, but it was certainly among the most spectacular glacier hikes I have done.
Helicopters seem to be the mode of travel for New Zealand, especially with access roads constantly getting avalanched and washed out. So our way there started with an exhilarating flight up the glacial valley to land atop Fox Glacier. Our guide tested the ice and carved steps with an ice axe as we traversed across the glacier to explore waterfalls and ice caves while observing multiple ominous rock falls from the steep cliffs above. We steered clear of the sides of the glaciers to avoid turning into pancakes from the Volkswagen-sized rocks crashing down.
We are lucky as our guide was motivated to explore, so we ended up spending 3 hours on the glacier much to the chagrin of the Malaysian women waiting for us back at the landing pad. Since each helicopter is balanced by the human weight in it, they were destined to wait for our return before they could fly back. Sorry ladies!
The town itself is fun to explore. See “Weird New Zealand” and “New Zealand Fauna” in later blog posts as to why (hint, glowworms and Sasquatch have something in common). It also has nearby Lake Matheson which has verdant forests, walkways and the lake that reflects beautifully the alpine mountains on a calm day. Nearby is also the ocean beach where Scottish original settlers gold miners struck it rich dredging the Fox River in the 1850’s, their Victorian cemetery, and on the way there one can catch great views of the glacier from afar.
As usual, leave your comments and feedback below. Kia ora!